Mary Jane Smith

OBITUARY FOR MARY JANE FIELDS SMITH May 14, 1922 — October 21, 2019 "Remember me always smiling" Mary Jane Fields Smith, 97, of Columbus, Ohio peacefully passed away at 1:00 a.m. Monday, October 21, 2019 in her beloved home, as she wished. Mary Jane was born in Newark, Ohio and was preceded in death by her husband of 56 years, Clarence W. Smith, Sr.; her parents Carl C. Fields and Anna Louise White Fields (the Whites are descendants of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings) and her grandmother, Eliza Fields, who raised Mary Jane and her youngest brother, Carl C. Fields, Jr. (aka Junior), they were inseparable! Also preceding her in death are her brothers Thomas (Mildred) Fields, William (Ruth) Fields, Jean Fields and Carl (Ruth) Fields, Jr. Mary was born on Mother's Day, May 14, 1922 and witnessed the death of her mother when she was just 5 years old (her mother was 27 when she died). A few years after her mother's death, Mary Jane and Junior went to live with their grandmother, Eliza Fields, Mary was 7 and Junior was 5. Grandma Fields lived at 1275 Hildreth Avenue (corner of Hildreth and Champion Avenue), Columbus, Ohio. The steps leading from the sidewalk to the house are still visible today, however, the lot is vacant. Mary Jane lived with her grandmother at 1275 Hildreth Avenue until she married at the age of 21. Mary Jane attended and graduated from East High School where she met and fell in love with her future husband, Clarence W. Smith. Their union was joined for 56 years until "Wilbur" was called to his heavenly home in December 1999. During those 56 years, Mary and Wilbur brought their first of four children into the world, Sylvia Ann, and they relocated to Seattle, Washington when Wilbur enlisted in the Navy during WWII. At the end of the war, Mary, Wilbur and Sylvia returned to Columbus, Ohio where Mary worked numerous day jobs until she secured a position at Mt. Carmel Hospital on the westside of Columbus. She began her career there as an orderly and, with the assistance and love of the nuns who she worked with, she rose from the orderly position to the position she retired from after more than 30 years at the hospital, as a Ward Clerk. Mary always wanted to become a nurse, however, financially her family was not able to send her to school so she did the next best thing. Mary became a lifelong CARE GIVER! She was a 50+ years faithful member of Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, where she was involved with the Nurses Corp, a past-president of the Golden Agers, assisting in feeding the hungry and received a "Care Giver" award in 2000 from the Mt. Olivet family. Mary Jane loved to travel and she and Wilbur enjoyed numerous cruises, trips and vacations with their friends and family. Mary was known to "dip" her body in the Atlantic Ocean while vacationing at Tybee Island along the Georgia shore; she loved crocheting, needle point and knitting as well as collecting and decorating different shaped rocks that she found on her many journeys, labelling each one with the state, date and locale. You could say Mary Jane loved to collect things! Mary Jane Fields Smith leaves, to cherish her memories and to continue her legacy, her children Sylvia A. (John) Pannell, Clarence W. "Porky" Smith, Sr., Anita Diane (Richard) Brown and Steven A. (Anona) Smith. Mary's proudest legacies are her eleven grandsons John B. (Marianne) Pannell, Darrell (Rachel) Pannell, Eric T. (Melissa) Pannell, LaShawn Hartnett, Kareem 0. (Meghan) Brown, Jaron R. (Shirley) Brown, Dorien J. Brown, Steven A. Smith, II, Cory J. (Kate) Smith, Shane T. Smith, Zachary A. Smith; grand-daughter-in-law Scheron Brown; daughter-in-law Shirley Manuel; Great Grandchildren Tamika Pannell, Nala Pannell, Payton L. Pannell, Khalid I. Brown, Kendall Pannell, Kennedy Pannell, Mia Pannell, Elijah P. Hartnett, Olivia A. Brown, Grayson A. Brown, Emma L Brown, Kellan Z. Brown, Caitlin S. Brown; Great Great grandsons Omani Jordan, Nasir Mizelle. Mary also leaves her dog, Angel, who was her dedicated guardian; special friends Dorothy Harrell, Julia Baker, Monta Rocker and Ella Mason as well as numerous spiritual daughters, sons and grandchildren; her 1st cousin Helen Austin, her Shackleford 1st cousins and all her Fields nieces, nephews and their families.